The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia will hear an argument docket at the Buffalo High School auditorium on Tuesday, October 17, as part of the court’s Legal Advancement for West Virginia Students (LAWS) civics education program.
For LAWS, the Supreme Court hears an argument docket outside of Charleston either at a county courthouse or a school auditorium, and high school students from that county attend. Sometimes students from nearby counties and local colleges also attend. Attorneys visit classes ahead of time to explain the appellate process and help students study the cases. On the day of the court visit, students have an opportunity to talk to the attorneys who argued each case immediately after that argument concludes. Since LAWS was established in 1999, more than 6,700 students in dozens of counties have participated. This is the first time the court has invited Putnam County students to take part in LAWS.
“We always enjoy the LAWS dockets because we get to see so many of our state’s brightest students,” said Chief Justice Beth Walker. “We want students to know how our court system works, and this program is a great practical demonstration of the rule of law and how courts can help citizens resolve disputes in a peaceful manner.”
Students from Buffalo High School, Hurricane High School, Poca High School, and Winfield High School will watch the Supreme Court hear four cases on a Rule 19 Argument Docket. According to the West Virginia Rules of Appellate Procedure, Cases suitable for Rule 19 argument include but are not limited to:
(1) cases involving assignments of error in the application of settled law;
(2) cases claiming an unsustainable exercise of discretion where the law governing that discretion is settled;
(3) cases claiming insufficient evidence or a result against the weight of the evidence;
(4) cases involving a narrow issue of law; and
(5) cases in which a hearing is required by law.
The schedule will be as follows.
10:00 a.m. State of West Virginia v. Candice T. Salmons, No. 21-0424.
10:20 a.m. Eugene F. Boyce and Kimberly D. Boyce v. Monongahela Power Company,
Frontier Communications of America, Inc., Frontier Communications Corporate No. 22-
0292.
11:00 a.m. State of West Virginia v. Charles Eric Ward, No. 22-0211.
11:20 a.m. Elliott Grisell and Lorri Grisell v. Shelly & Sands, Inc., No. 22-0341.
Students in other schools in other counties can participate remotely. Documents filed in
the cases are available on the West Virginia Judiciary website at
http://www.courtswv.gov/supreme-court/calendar/2023/dockets/10-17-23ad.html.
The LAWS docket will be recorded and available on the West Virginia Judiciary
YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/wvsupremecourt) so all West Virginia
students have the opportunity to watch during their normal class times.
For more information on LAWS, see http://www.courtswv.gov/publicresources/studentresources/index.html.
Original source can be found here.
